Most clothing organization systems poorly utilize all available space. The typical "bar and hanger" system requires hangers to be spaced horizontally, leaving sufficient space between hangers to accommodate clothing or accessory items. This typically does not allow for effective use of vertical or horizontal space within the closet or other storage space. In addition, most clothing organization systems do not allow for the "compression" of clothing.
More advanced clothing organization systems typically cause the user difficulty in storing and retrieving items. Typically the clothing items must be rearranged in some manner to facilitate storage and retrieval of some or all items.
Further, clothing storage systems are not generally designed so that entire "outfits" of clothing can be stored together. This causes the user to have to search through multiple hangers to retrieve all clothing and accessories to complete their "outfit".
The prior art on hanging devices includes several patents. U.S. Pat. No. 1,743,234 to Porter includes a clothes hanger (FIG. 3) with horizontal arms that are downwardly pivotable into an extended horizontal position. The arms are located below a hook. The arms also include notches for receiving shoulder straps of women's gowns. The device of Porter does not include a hanger having a plurality of hang locations, such as holes, for fixedly holding conventional hangers, accessory holders, or an attachment point for chaining together hangers; in addition, the device of Porter does not allow clothing on the arms to be compressed by pivoting the arms upward.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,937,911 to Pajeau provides a necktie holder having arms that pivot downward to an extended position. The arms are physically configured such that garments can only be draped over the arms as extended. The device of Pajeau does not include a hanger having a plurality of hang locations, such as holes, for fixedly holding conventional hangers, accessory holders, or an attachment point for chaining together hangers; in addition, the device of Pajeau does not allow clothing on the arms to be compressed by pivoting the arms upward.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,737 to Robinson shows a clothes hanger having a hook, a pair of arms upwardly pivotable into an extended position, and a latch mechanism to secure the arms in a horizontal extended position. The arms are configured as elongated parallelepipeds having top, bottom, and side walls. The bottom wall has an elongated slot, wherein modified conventional hangers extend down through the slot. The hangers have been modified by having the conventional hanger hook replaced with a sphere, which is in turn retained inside of the arm. The device of Robinson does not include a hanger having a plurality of hang locations, such as holes, for fixedly holding conventional hangers, accessory holders, or an attachment point for chaining together hangers; in addition, the device of Robinson does not allow clothing on the arms to be compressed by pivoting the arms upward.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,065 to Olson includes a hanger having a center support member and a base having a plurality of arms being pivotally coupled thereto. The arms pivot downward to an extended horizontal position. The device of Olson does not include a hanger having a plurality of hang locations, such as holes, for fixedly holding conventional hangers, accessory holders, or an attachment point for chaining together hangers; in addition, the device of Olson does not allow clothing on the arms to be compressed by pivoting the arms upward.
It thus appears that there is a need for a clothing device, method, and system for clothing organization that overcomes the problems of the prior art. These problems include poor utilization of vertical and horizontal space in closets, lack of use of compression of clothing, difficulties with retrieving stored clothing, and failure to facilitate organized storage of clothing, such as in groups or outfits, using a hanger having a plurality of hang locations, such as holes, for fixedly holding conventional hangers, accessory holders, an attachment point for chaining together hangers, or a method and system to allow clothing on the arms to be compressed by pivoting the arms upward.